15 



J and Vio of a pound, one caused sickness and two were without result. 

 Apparently the green seed-heads are about as poisonous as the leaves 

 and stems. The number of tests, however, was not great enough to 

 prove this conclusively. As a cause of poisoning in range sheep 

 it is believed that the seed-heads of death camas are of very little 

 importance. 



Symptoms of Poisoning in Sheep by Foot-Hill Death Camas. 



Small doses, from J to f of a pound, cause salivation or slobbering in 

 nearly every case. A few cases show nausea and vomiting; there is 

 often a marked increase in the rate of respiration sometimes amounting 

 to panting. The breathing is very irregular; for a time it' is rapid, 

 then very slow. In some cases there is a muscular weakness, which is 

 most noticeable in the hind-legs. 



With larger doses, from one to two pounds, there is in addition to 

 the above symptoms a period of dullness during which the animal 

 stands with the back arched and the head and ears drooping. With 

 still larger doses the animal becomes so weak as to be unable to rise. 



In some cases the mucous membrane of mouth and tongue appeared 

 blue ; and two sheep showed such a spasmodic twitching of the muscles 

 as occurs in strychnine poisoning. 



Time Necessary for Symptoms of Poisoning to Appear. 



The time which elapsed from the time of feeding until symptoms 

 appeared varied from one to seven hours, the average being three hours 

 and ten minutes. The time was slightly less for the larger doses. With 

 doses of less than two pounds the time averaged three hours, twenty-two 

 minutes ; with doses of three pounds or more the average was two hours, 

 twenty-five minutes. 



Length of Time the Poisoned Sheep Were Sick. 



The length of time through which the sheep remained sick was quite 

 variable. After doses of J pound to two pounds the animals were sick 

 for from one to eighteen hours, averaging about five or six hours. As 

 several of these sheep recovered during the night, we do not know 

 exactly how long they were sick. Most of the sheep which died from 

 the direct effects of death camas poisoning were sick from twenty to 

 twenty-five hours; and one was down and unable to rise for nearly 

 three days before it died. 



Some Typical Cases of Death Camas Poisoning in Sheep. 



Case 1. A yearling wether weighing 81 pounds was fed J pound of 

 the leaves of death camas at 11 : 10 a. m. May 5, 1918. At 2 : 55 p. m. it 

 began to froth at the mouth and made attempts to vomit. The breath- 

 ing was very irregular, alternately rapid and slow. At 4 : 30 p. m. the 

 animal seemed to be getting better and by 5 p. m. it appeared to have 

 recovered completely. 



Case 2. About one month later, on June 4, 1918, the same sheep, now 

 weighing 93 pounds, was fed J pound at 2 : 35 p. m. At 3 : 50 p. m. it 

 began slobbering; and at 4:05 p. m. it was nauseated and began to 

 vomit. The breathing was at first fast' and shallow, then slow and full,, 

 with occasional slight pauses. By 4 : 30 it had vomited an amount esti- 

 mated at f of a quart. Vomiting ceased soon afterward and by 4 : 50 

 the sheep was much better. When next observed, at 7 :45 p. m., it was 

 eating hay and appeared to have fully recovered. 



